In general, electronic components using a ceramic material, such as a capacitor, an inductor, a piezoelectric element, a varistor, a thermistor, or the like, include a ceramic body formed of ceramic material, internal electrodes formed in the ceramic body, and external electrodes disposed on a surface of the ceramic body so as to be connected to the internal electrodes.
Among ceramic electronic components, a multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a plurality of stacked dielectric layers, internal electrodes disposed to face each other with one of the dielectric layers interposed therebetween, and external electrodes electrically connected to the internal electrodes.
Multilayer ceramic capacitors have been widely used as components for mobile communications devices such as computers, a personal data assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, or the like, due to advantages such as compact size, high capacitance, ease of mountability, or the like.
Recently, in accordance with the trend toward high performance and slimness and lightness in electronic device industries, compact sized, high performance, and inexpensive electronic components have been required.
In particular, as a speed of a central processing unit (CPU) has increased and a device has been miniaturized, lightened, digitalized, and highly functionalized, research into a technology of implementing characteristics such as miniaturization, thinness, high capacitance, low impedance at a high frequency area, or the like, of the multilayer ceramic capacitor has been actively conducted.
Meanwhile, as a dielectric layer has been thinned, it is essential to use a fine material for an internal electrode. However, as a size of the material has decreased, sintering shrinkage suppressing capability may be decreased, and thus electrode connectivity after sintering may be deteriorated.
Further, since an excessive amount of an organic material is required for dispersing of the fine material, a filling rate of an inorganic material may be decreased, which causes deterioration of electrode connectivity after sintering and an increase of residual carbon.
Therefore, a method of improving withstand voltage characteristics while increasing electrode connectivity has been required.